Lemuel Dorcas
Lemuel Dorcas is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is notable for playing a part in the origins of Namor villains Tiger Shark, Orka, and Piranha.
Publication history
Dr. Lemuel Dorcas first appeared in Sub-Mariner #5-6, and was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.The character subsequently appeared in Sub-Mariner #15, #23-24, #33, Marvel Team-Up #14, and Super-Villain Team-Up #1-3. The character made a posthumous appearance in Marvel Tales #249, and his body was later dumped into the ocean in Namor #42.
Doctor Dorcas received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #17.
Fictional character biography
Dr. Lemuel Dorcas is a human scientist and would-be conqueror. Dorcas is responsible for transforming Olympic swimmer Todd Arliss into the superhuman Tiger Shark by augmenting him with the DNA of Namor and a tiger shark. Dorcas plans to use Tiger Shark as a pawn in his schemes of world conquest.Dorcas forms alliances with Namor's enemies Krang and Byrrah, with Krang providing his follower Orka as a test subject. Dorcas gives Orka powers akin to a orca and uses him to attack Atlantis, but is thwarted by Namor and Tiger Shark.
Dorcas was also inadvertently responsible for the creation of Piranha, a normal piranha who was exposed to radiation from Dorcas' previous experiment and mutated into a humanoid form.
Dorcas is seemingly killed during a battle with Namor after one of Attuma's war machines crushes him. Long after his apparent death, Dorcas is revealed to have survived due to conducting experiments with starfish, giving him regenerative abilities. After setting up a base in Tetiaroa Atoll, Dorcas mutates several creatures to serve him and keeps them under his control with neuroleeches. Dorcas develops an obsession for Songbird and captures her, only for her to escape and turn his henchmen against him.